CLEARWATER'S most famous resident, Winter the dolphin, embodies what this west coast Florida city is all about, with her playful spirit, love of water and appetite for seafood.

The star of last year’s Hollywood movie Dolphin Tale, it told the story of Winter and her recovery after she was washed ashore, entangled in a lobster pot.

When she was found by the city’s marine rescue centre her tail was so badly damaged she was going to be put down but a local expert stepped in to develop a prosthesis so that she could learn to swim again.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s motto is “rescue, rehabilitation and release” and its patients are not treated as entertainment. It does have dolphin shows but these are to help exercise and stimulate the animals.

Winter now lives here, happily sharing her home with other rescued dolphins, turtles, otters and pelicans, and attracts huge amounts of visitors.

Water and its inhabitants are the life and soul of Pinellas County, home to Clearwater and its twin resort St Petersburg, about an hour’s drive south. I was staying at the Sheraton Sand Key resort, bang on the beach. Here in Clearwater owning a boat is almost obligatory and grouper, crab and other seafoods dominate restaurant menus.

Those who are seeking adrenaline-fuelled thrills can try their hand at a host of watersports

The Gulf of Mexico, lapping at Florida’s west coast and Tampa Bay to the east, teems with marine life and the shoreline is protected from storms by 11 barrier islands.

The biggest threat in Pinellas seems to be from the stingrays hiding in the sand but doing the “stingray shuffle”, disturbing the sand with your feet as you enter the water, soon scares them off.

The area also offers great fishing, albeit with strict catch and size limits to lessen environmental impact.

Speeding out of O’Neill’s Marina from Pinellas Point in St Petersburg, Captain Rob was eager for us to catch redfish.

We held on tight for the half-hour trip to one of Rob’s favourite spots, returning the water to a millpond when we cut the engine.

There we idled over lawns of seagrass in clear, sun-sparkling water, near the mangroves of a protected island as we looked for our quarry.

Although we were not far from a city of a million people, only the bird cries and splashes of leaping mullet broke the tranquillity. With so many fish jumping, it looked like hooking a redfish would be easy.

Rob steered the boat by remote control as he stood on the bow, casting at shapes he spotted with his keen eyes.

He handed over the rod, reassuring me I would know when a redfish had taken the bait, but they weren’t biting, despite Captain Rob willing them on.

Time was against us so for the last few casts we switched gear aiming to catch trout instead. Finally we landed three prime specimens (you’re only allowed to catch up to four, and most people catch and release) so we were happy.

Spotting manatees proved to be an easier task. Within minutes of leaving the kayak launch from Fort De Soto Park one of the gentle giants was frolicking around the boats. In fact nuzzling would be a better description, it was actually pushing us through the water.

I never imagined it would be that easy to get up close to such an endangered creature.

Those who are seeking adrenaline-fuelled thrills can try their hand at a host of watersports.

Speed Boat Adventures in St Petersburg will get your pulse racing as you and a friend take turns at the wheel.

After some basic instruction our guide sped ahead to lead the way for a two-hour blast around Tampa Bay. For the most part the water was calm and even though we were travelling at 35mph we could still enjoy the scenery.

However bouncing in the wake of passing boats was more precarious, although one driver still managed to spot a dolphin. Sadly it wasn’t Winter. Her prosthetic means she cannot be released back into the wild but like all the residents of this aquatic playground it was clear from the joyful way that it leapt through the water that it was having a lot of fun.